An original Banksy, which was burnt and destroyed in a livestreamed video, has been sold via a digital token representing the work for $380,000 (£274,000). A video shared by the BurntBanksy account shows a masked man setting fire to the art with a lighter. One art critic has dismissed the event as a “stunt” to make money.
Source: Banksy art burned, destroyed and sold as token in ‘money-making stunt’
Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind K-Pop megastars BTS, has invested 4 billion KRW (approximately $3.6m) into Korea-based Artificial Intelligence company Supertone. The company recently made headlines for using its SVS technology to “resurrect” the singing voice of South Korean folk superstar Kim Kwang-seok, with the resultant cloned voice debuted on Korean television show Competition of the Century: AI vs Human.
Former President Donald J. Trump called multiple times for repealing the law that shields tech companies from legal responsibility over what people post. President Biden, as a candidate, said the law should be “revoked.” But the lawmakers aiming to weaken the law have started to agree on a different approach.
Source: Tech’s Legal Shield Appears Likely to Survive as Congress Focuses on Details
European Commission officials should not be “influenced behind closed doors” during private meetings with MEPs on the implementation of the copyright directive, says a letter penned by a cross-section of EU Parliamentarians. The letter raises concern at recent meetings revealed by EURACTIV, in which high-ranking Commission officials briefed EU lawmakers on their vision for transposing the hotly-debated Article 17 of the Copyright Directive.
Source: Closed-door copyright meetings ‘taint’ EU transparency, MEPs warn
For all of ViacomCBS’s investment in transforming CBS All Access into Paramount+, and heavily promoting it to drive sign-ups, subscribers to the new service cannot call up a replay of the CBS network’s blockbuster Oprah Winfrey interview of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — aka “Harry and Meghan.”
How do we as an ever-changing industry ensure that we’re continuing to grow, nurture and support the livelihoods of the creative communities that allow music streaming to exist in the first place? Livelihood means more than exposure and celebration of the craft of songwriting, though I do think that is absolutely important as well. But exposure and visibility don’t go nearly far enough.
As vaccines have rolled out around the world, many film executives and theater operators have been predicting — hoping, praying — that a huge surge of ticket buying awaits. But early box office results indicate a messier recovery, with moviegoer tastes potentially shifting — particularly in China, now the No. 1 cinema market in the world — and behind-the-scenes spats between studios and theaters crimping film availability.
Source: After Pandemic, Film Industry’s Hollywood Ending May Have to Wait
AT&T seems pretty pleased with how its experiment of releasing new Warner Bros. movies in theaters and on HBO Max has gone so far, which has been mostly to the benefit of its young streaming service. “What we’ve seen is not only good viewership of those movies on HBO Max, but engagement that followed, that’s been encouraging. So real success with it so far,” AT&T CFO John Stephens said Monday.
Source: AT&T CFO Has No Regrets About HBO Max Film Release Strategy: ‘Real Success With It So Far’
Most entrepreneurs envisioned blockchain as a way to democratize getting paid, where the average artist could finally make a buck as easily as the superstar. NFTs are proving to be just the opposite however, since it’s only the high-profile artists in any area of entertainment that seem to be cashing in so far.
Source: Will NFTs Finally Fulfill The Blockchain Promise To Music?
Everything seen in the virtual show, developed by artist Jake Elwes, has been created using the latest machine learning and deepfake technology techniques. Partly inspired by the ongoing restrictions on live and billed as “an attempt to push the limits of what can be imagined on a digital stage,” The Zizi Show is hosted by a character who adopts doppleganger identities of acts like Lilly Snatchdragon, Mahatma Khandi, Tete Bang and Odepussi Rex.